Friday, September 29, 2017

If you like to watch:These Fish Are All About Sex on the Beach
During the highest tides, California grunion stampede out of the ocean to mate on the beach. When the party's over, thousands of tiny eggs are left stranded up in the sand. How will their lost babies make it back to the sea? (PBS Deep Look) [Thanks to Anne Shaffer, Coastal Watershed Institute, for the heads up on this fine short video.]

Fraser sockeye returns stay low while feds say they're amping up protections
The federal government says it has implemented most recommendations from a 2012 report aimed at revitalizing British Columbia's Fraser River sockeye salmon run but the outlook for the species remains murky. The Cohen commission was launched by the federal government after the near disappearance of the sockeye salmon run in the Fraser River system in 2009. Former B.C. Supreme Court judge Bruce Cohen made 75 suggestions for change, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada said Thursday it has acted on 64 of the recommendations. Despite these efforts, officials say only 1.5 million salmon have returned to the Fraser River this year, well below the 4.4 million forecasted. (Canadian Press)

Upstream, downstream: Fish get a step up in Langford
Some Langford residents could have salmon spawning near their backyards once a habitat-enhancement project goes ahead in Millstream Creek. The Millstream Creek Fishway Project aims to give fish a boost into an additional eight kilometres of creek habitat suitable for spawning. For now, fish can’t get past an Atkins Road culvert that is close to 3.7 metres in diameter. Volunteers have carried out considerable work over the past 20 years to help fish get through four smaller impediments along the creek, said Ian Bruce, project manager and executive co-ordinator of the Peninsula Streams Society. Jeff Bell reports. (Times Colonist)

Northwest States Reluctant To Force Retrofits For Buildings That Could Kill In Big Quake
Last week’s earthquake in Mexico provided another reminder about the risks of poorly reinforced buildings. According to government studies, there are literally thousands of older brick and concrete buildings in Oregon and Washington that could collapse in a strong earthquake. Seismic retrofits would likely save lives—maybe even yours. But until now city and state governments in the Northwest have been reluctant to require that of property owners. The focus here is on brick or stone buildings built before 1945, roughly speaking. The construction style is called unreinforced masonry (URM). This category of earthquake-vulnerable structures includes thousands of schools, churches and apartment buildings. Tom Banse reports. (NW Public Radio/KUOW)

'Very impressive' marine life enters North America on debris from Japanese tsunami
Debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami that landed in North America has delivered marine life never seen in the region. A magnitude 9.1 undersea earthquake created a massive tsunami off the coast of Honshu, Japan's main island, that travelled as far as 10 kilometres inland. Thousands of people were killed, and the rushing water tore apart wooden buildings and homes. Eventually the flood pulled the floating debris into the Pacific Ocean. Scientists knew some debris could make it the approximately 7,500 kilometres east to the western shores of North America, but they had no idea how much. (CBC)

Trump Wants to Repeal Obama’s Climate Plan. The Next Fight: Its Replacement.
President Trump failed again this week to fulfill his promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health plan. Now he is taking aim at Mr. Obama’s central environmental legacy, the Clean Power Plan. The administration has made clear its desire to repeal the Obama energy plan. But what would take its place remains a mystery. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected in the coming days to reveal its strategy for reversing the Clean Power Plan, which was intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants across the country. Yet while Mr. Trump has declared the Obama-era plan dead — “Did you see what I did to that? Boom, gone,” he told a cheering crowd in Alabama recently — industry executives say they expect that utilities could still be subject to some restrictions on carbon emissions. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)

In response to yesterday's item about red alder, Herbert wrote: "Re Red Alder... a 50 year life cycle is kinda short. I think that, in the places where it's happiest and where it was mostly found- before clear-cuts- it can live far longer. In 1996 a big one at the mouth of a canyon behind our house came down in a storm. It had a solid center, and I counted rings-- 127 years old. My neighbor & I talked about it a little, and, a few weeks later 3 guys from the Daybreak Star Center in Seattle showed up to see if they could take some of it back to their workshop, to make ceremonial vessels (& maybe masks) out of this alder. We said "sure"... and they broke out some 4'-5' pieces with a fro and packed it off. They said that these old alder were the ones they used, historically, for ceremonial "bowls" (or more like a long hollow platter-- like a mini-dugout canoe). Anyhow, there are other old alder here & there... and 50 years is not giving them time to really mature."

Note in reply: Thanks for the comment. I should go out and cut down the red alder below the orchard and count its rings. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coasts says, "Red alder is an aggressive, fast-growing, but short-lived hardwood (old at 50 years)..." So I should not have said 'it lives to 50 years.' My mistake, thanks for correcting. But let me know if you get sick: "Alder bark is highly valued for its medicinal qualities. A solution of the bark was used against tuberculosis and other respiratory ailments and as a tonic, and it has been credited with saving many lives. It was also used as a wash for skin infections and wounds, and is known to have strong antibiotic properties."

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Red AlderAlnus rubraRed alder is a fast-growing but short-lived hardwood tree, attaining heights of 75 feet and living to 50 years. A coastal tree, it grows no more than 100 miles inland on poor, moist soils and on steep slopes. Red alder wood is considered the best wood for smoking salmon and its wood is still used to make bowls, masks, and rattles. Its bark is used to make a red or orange dye. Red alder roots fix nitrogen at a rate of 40-300 lbs per acre, (compared to 105 lbs per acre for soybeans), which is why alder forests have rich understories of grasses, sedges and ferns but no acid-loving plants like blackberry or salal. (Plants of the Pacific Northwest/Northwest Plants)

Whatcom Council approves third 6-month ban on unrefined fossil fuel exports
The Whatcom County Council has approved a third six-month moratorium on new shipments of unrefined fossil fuels through Cherry Point. The council voted 6-1 to do so after a long public hearing Tuesday night in which opposing sides made the same arguments as they have previously. Council member Barbara Brenner opposed extending the moratorium. Council members have said they needed more time to consider land use rules and find out what they can legally do to protect people and the environment as demands push in on the county. They hope to get some direction from a $150,000 study. The moratorium doesn’t affect current refining and shipment of products through BP Cherry Point and Phillips 66 refineries. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

B.C. sockeye is a climate change loser
A new study from UBC analyzed more 1,000 aquatic species for vulnerability to the effects of climate change, and the news for three B.C. food fish is not good. William Cheung — an associate professor at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries — brought together biological data relevant to adaptability and applied “fuzzy logic” to the computations. The exercise identified 294 marine species worldwide that are most at-risk due to climate change by 2050. Here are some highlights for species native to B.C. waters… Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Value of farm-raised salmon climbing fast, industry report says
The value of B.C. farmed fish rose 37 per cent between 2103 and 2016, according to a report commissioned by the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association. Under pressure from activists and First Nations who question the industry’s impact on the environment and wild salmon, salmon farmers have increased production by only 12 per cent since 2010. The biggest gains have been made in the market value of B.C. Atlantic salmon, said association executive-director Jeremy Dunn. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Toxic 'Superfund' cleanups languish in Northwest
Dozens of the worst hazardous-waste sites in the Northwest are not being cleaned up, for lack of personnel to do the job, according to a report from the inspector general of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The federal watchdog singles out Seattle's lower Duwamish River as a contaminated site where work has been delayed. People who work on the Duwamish say its cleanup is right on schedule. According to the inspector general — as well as a series of reports from various government auditors – the EPA has a long history of not putting people where they’re most needed, with some regions, including the Northwest, getting the short end of the stick. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Court of appeal rules against Kinder Morgan, federal government on existing Trans Mountain Pipeline
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled against Kinder Morgan Canada and the federal government in relation to the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline. Tuesday's ruling states the federal government failed in its legal obligation to act in the best interests of the Coldwater Indian Band when it neglected to modernize the terms of a 1952 decision that allowed Kinder Morgan to use Coldwater's reserve for the pipeline. Coldwater Indian Band, which is located about 12 kilometres south of Merritt, B.C., has about 860 members, half of which live on the reserve. (CBC)

Northwest Researchers Look To A New Biofuel: Seaweed
There’s a new type of biofuel in the works — and it could one day reduce the use of fertilizers, farming land, and power your car. Northwest researchers are looking to seaweed as the next big thing in biofuel. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have a big plan for growing seaweed in the open ocean. “The open ocean covers 70 percent of the world’s surface area but provides only 1 percent of the world’s food (or biomass) supplies. So clearly there is a massive frontier out there that could be explored for growing biomass and not competing with biomass production for food,” said Michael Huesemann, an engineer at at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory based in Sequim, Washington. Courtney Flatt reports. (NWPR/EarthFix)

Dungeness hunt for green crab winding down for winter
In the coming week, resource managers on the Dungeness Spit look to wrap up their season’s hunt for the invasive European green crab. The crabs were discovered last April on Graveyard Spit north of Dungeness Landing. Researchers have found a total of 93 green crabs — 54 males and 39 females — as of last Thursday. Matthew Nash reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Washington State Ends Wolf Killing After 2 Months Without Cattle Attack
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says efforts to kill members of a wolf pack north of Spokane have ended. The agency said Tuesday that wolves from the Smackout pack have shown no signs of preying on livestock in Stevens County since July when state wildlife managers trapped and killed two of its members. Agency wolf manager Donny Martorello says the wolves killed were a 30-pound female and a 70-pound female. (Associated Press)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

KilldeerCharadrius vociferusThe killdeer is a medium-sized plover…. Their name comes from their frequently heard call. These birds will frequently use a distraction display ("broken-wing act") to distract predators from their nests. This involves the bird walking away from its nesting area holding its wing in a position that simulates an injury and then flapping around on the ground emitting a distress call. The predators then think they have easy prey and are attracted to this seemingly injured bird and away from the nest. If the parent sees that a potential predator is not following them, they will move closer and get louder until they get the attention of the predator. This is repeated until the predator is far from the nest, and the killdeer suddenly "heals" and flies away. (Wikipedia)

Puget Sound's Southern Resident Orca Population Drops to 30-Year Low
Orca researchers and conservationists are urging more steps to protect Puget Sound's endangered southern resident killer whales. The push comes in the wake of the death of a 2-year-old male orca known as J52. The death, which researchers say was caused by malnutrition, brought the population to a 30-year low. J52 is the seventh orca to die this year. That’s the biggest year-to-year decline ever recorded. The decline comes less than two years after a killer whale baby boom had researchers feeling optimistic about orcas' prospects for survival in Puget Sound. Eilís O'Neill reports. (KUOW)

NEB warns Trans Mountain pipeline builder to stop installing anti-spawning mats
The National Energy Board is issuing a stern warning to the company building the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion for installing mats in streams to discourage fish from spawning where the pipeline is to be built. In a letter on its website, the regulator orders the company building the line from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., to stop installing the mats until it has obtained all approvals from the board to allow the start of construction in those areas…. In an email, Trans Mountain spokesman Ali Hounsell says the spawning deterrents were considered a "preventive measure" to minimize environmental impacts of construction, adding the company is working on a response to the NEB order. (Canadian Press)

Could DNA technology used to trace ancestry help pinpoint sources of bacterial pollution?
DNA technology used to catch rapists and track people’s ancestry could help pin down sources of the fecal coliform washing into the Nooksack River and downstream to Portage Bay, where the Lummi Nation has hundreds of acres of shellfish beds that have been partially closed because of the bacterial pollution. At least that’s the hope of the six Watershed Improvement Districts in Whatcom County paying $18,000 for a pilot project in which DNA sequencing is being used on a section of Scott Ditch. Farmers formed the districts in the northern part of the county to address water issues. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Pope Resources to begin harvesting trees in North Kitsap park
The dense forests of Kitsap’s largest park are typically quiet, secluded refuges for joggers, dog walkers, mountain bikers and wildlife. Over the next 25 years, a large chunk of the county-owned Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park will get quite a bit louder, as timber company Pope Resources begins to cut and harvest thousands of trees there. Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Comment period extended for draft plan on Olympic National Park mountain goats
The public comment period on a draft Mountain Goat Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement has been extended to allow more time for comments from the area where park goats would be relocated under the draft plan. The comment period, originally set to end Tuesday, has been extended to Oct. 10. Leah Leach reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

NAS Whidbey celebrates 75 years
When Bud Zylstra was 18 and building houses as a construction apprentice on what was then a small Navy base in Oak Harbor, he had no idea what the base would become. Zylstra, now 94 and a World War II veteran with the Army Air Corps, admires the changes Whidbey Island Naval Air Station has undergone over the years…. On Thursday, 75 years to the day after NAS Whidbey was commissioned, Zylstra visited the base he helped build in the town he has always called home. Kera Wanielista reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Malnutrition suspected in death of young killer whale
Researchers say a young member of an endangered killer whale population living off British Columbia's coast has died. The Washington state-based Center for Whale Research says J52, a male southern resident killer whale, was last spotted near the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Vancouver Island on Sept. 15. The two-and-a-half-year-old whale appeared lethargic and was barely surfacing, with photos showing signs he was malnourished. Researchers with the centre say the Chinook salmon the orcas eat have been in short supply this year. J52 was not spotted when his pod was observed in Puget Sound off Washington state on Sept. 19 and the centre says he presumably died of malnutrition hours after he was last seen. The scientists say there were 78 southern resident killer whales as of last December, and the centre has warned that noise, toxic contamination, and a lack of food threaten their long-term survival. (Canadian Press)

Orca’s death raises fears of extinction
The death of a juvenile orca that had been showing signs of malnutrition has killer-whale researchers despairing about the long-term viability of the southern residents. “I would say we are already in a very dangerous situation,” said Lance Barrett-Lennard, senior marine mammal researcher at the Vancouver Aquarium. “If this trajectory continues and we lose two or three more, from deaths or unsuccessful birth, we will be in a real spiral.” Richard Watts reports. (Times Colonist)

Gov’t tried dozens of times to establish Atlantic salmon on West Coast
More than eight million Atlantic salmon have been intentionally released into B.C. rivers and lakes, beginning more than a century ago. With the support of the federal government, dozens of attempts were made to establish viable Atlantic salmon populations on the West Coast between 1905 and 1935. The experiments are documented in studies of salmonid distribution dating to the 1950s and as recently as 2002, which concluded that no spawning populations had survived. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

New sewage plant helps bring Port Gamble 'back to life'
With a comically large pair of golden scissors, Olympic Property Group President Jon Rose snipped a ribbon and opened Port Gamble’s new sewage treatment plant Monday morning. Perhaps, he said, a ceremonial “first flush” would have been more appropriate. With the $5.3 million project to open the new facility completed, an outfall from the town’s old treatment facility that had discharged treated effluent into Hood Canal has been closed. That wastewater from around Port Gamble now runs through the new Carver Drive facility, which is owned and operated by the Kitsap Public Utility District. Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Chetzemoka Park rain garden aims to keep pollutants out of Port Townsend Bay
A collaborative project on dry land aims to help keep pollutants out of Port Townsend Bay. Work from several parties, including by some 45 students, on a 25-foot-by-25-foot rain garden in Chetzemoka Park was finished Friday. “It took the partnership,” said Bob Simmons, associate professor with Washington State University Extension, who designed the garden. Leah Leach reports (Peninsula Daily News)

Environmental groups protest Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy
About 50 environmentalists stormed Puget Sound Energy headquarters in Bellevue Thursday. The group was among hundreds of other protesters who rallied against the company’s 13 facilities across Western Washington in a movement called “Keep It in the Ground.” Members of the Sierra Club, a newly-formed Eastside chapter of 350.org, CENSE and Protectors of the Salish Sea delivered an official letter and 5,000 signatures on a petition that demanded the utility company stop pushing fracked gas, abandon its liquefied natural gas facility in Tacoma plans and shutdown the Colstrip coal plant in Montana, which, they claim, is the dirtiest in the United States. Instead, they requested Puget Sound Energy switch to 100 percent renewable energy. Raechel Dawson reports. (Bellevue Reporter)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Monday, September 25, 2017

'Very rare' King-of-the-Salmon fish found on Vancouver Island beach
Ben Clinton Baker walks his dog along the Oak Bay shorelines fairly regularly. On Thursday, he was on Rattenbury Beach when he found something that's anything but regular: a thin, shimmering fish covered in purple scales and fringed with a red dorsal fin. (CBC) See: King-of-the-Salmon King-of-the-salmon, Trachipterus altivelis, is a species of ribbonfish in the family Trachipteridae. Its common name comes from the legends of the Makah people west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which hold that this fish leads the salmon annually to their spawning grounds. Catching or eating king-of-the-salmon was forbidden, as it was feared killing one would stop the salmon run… The king-of-the-salmon is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Chile. It is usually found in the open ocean to a depth of 900 meters (3,000 feet), though adults sometimes feed on the sea bottom. (Wikipedia)

Return to the Salish Sea: Spill Map Program Manager Ross Dixon
The prospect of a major oil spill is something that has many people concerned about the future of the Salish Sea, especially now that the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion has been approved by Canada. The line terminates just north of Vancouver, British Columbia. And official documents indicate that its expansion could bring as much as seven times more tanker traffic through the sea. There’s a correlating risk of oil spills that could hit hard in Puget Sound. To show where the oil might flow, two nonprofits in Canada created something called the Salish Sea Spill Map project. One of them is the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Monarch butterflies might vanish from Northwest summers
“Western monarchs probably won’t be around as we know them in another 35 years,” said Cheryl Schultz, an associate professor at Washington State University, Vancouver, and lead author of a new study. Annette Cary reports. (Tri-City Herald)

Nisqually tribe’s salmon giveaway starts Tuesday
The Nisqually Indian Tribe’s annual chinook giveaway starts next week and is open to the public. The tribe’s Clear Creek Hatchery releases millions of chinook smolts, or young salmon, each year. They return as adults in the fall a few years later to die. Before they do, the eggs and sperm are harvested and then the fish are given away. Abby Spegman reports. (Olympian)

Plan to bring fishers to North Cascades delayed
A plan to restore fishers, a mammal related to otters and wolverines, to the North Cascades has been delayed. Federal, state and nonprofit agencies have been working to restore fishers throughout the Cascade Mountains, and planned to bring some from British Columbia to the North Cascades this month. That plan has been delayed because of wildfires in British Columbia this summer, according to a state Department of Fish & Wildlife news release. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

World Rivers Day: how a B.C. river cleanup spawned an international movement
For Mark Angelo, a riverside clean-up is the best way to give back to a fruitful waterway. The avid fisherman, paddler and conservationist has long been a steward of B.C.'s rivers…. In 1980, Angelo and a group of like-minded friends secured funding from the provincial government for their planned 'B.C. Rivers Day.' There was only one single event to mark the inaugural celebration: a riverside clean-up of the Thompson River. He says it was the start of a global movement. CBC) See also: Marine debris clean-up efforts in jeopardy as funding runs out Months of debris cleanup on the west coast of Vancouver Island could be washed away (CBC)

EPA chief Pruitt met with many corporate execs. Then he made decisions in their favor.
Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt has met regularly with corporate executives from the automobile, mining and fossil fuel industries — in several instances shortly before making decisions favorable to those interest groups, according to a copy of his schedule obtained by The Washington Post. Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin report. (Washington Post)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Praying Mantis: beautiful but invasive
At KWIAHT, we have received several reports of the European Praying Mantis, Mantis religiosa, in the San Juan Islands, as well as a live specimen for confirmation. This is a concern for the conservation of pollinators and other beneficial insects that mantids will eat indiscriminately. Mantis eat everything they can subdue, and do not distinguish between (what humans regard as) harmful or beneficial insects. This large aggressive insect is native to the eastern Mediterranean region, and was first introduced to North America as early as 1890. Its arrival in the Pacific Northwest is more recent, however; and for many years the only significant population was in the Okanogan valley of British Columbia. Sightings in the Salish Sea have been scattered and few, but they are increasing. (Islands Sounder)

U.S. EPA commits funding to support PSI’s role in Puget Sound science
A collaboration between the University of Washington Puget Sound Institute (PSI), Oregon State University, Northern Economics, and the Puget Sound Partnership has been selected by the Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate the region’s science program. The four-year cooperative agreement provides an anticipated $7.25 million to create and communicate timely and policy-relevant science to support and enhance new recovery strategies. The collaboration also strengthens monitoring and modeling programs and identifies and promotes regional science priorities. The Puget Sound Partnership will receive and administer the primary award and other partners will receive sub-awards from PSP over the four year project period. Jeff Rice reports. (Puget Sound Institute) See also: Trump’s EPA Wants to Reverse Clean Water Protections Removing the rule would put drinking water, rivers, and wildlife at risk. Here’s a chance to weigh in. John Abbots reports. (Sightline)

Protesters gather to say no to LNG plant in Tacoma
Demonstrators traveled city to city in a major protest against Puget Sound Energy on Thursday. It is to say 'no' to a liquefied natural gas plant that's now going up on the Tacoma tide flats. When finished, the $300 million project will have a giant storage tank in the middle of the site. To the utility this represents a better environment with cleaner emissions from ships by weaning them off of bunker oil. To protester,s it represents a threat to the environment. "Stop construction of the LNG plant in Tacoma now," said demonstrator Dakota Case of the Puyallup Tribe. "The only bridge that fracked natural gas provides is a bridge to hell on Earth." Keith Eldridge report. (KOMO)

Kalama methanol backers weigh options
Methanol proponents say they’re committed to seeing the $1.8 billion plant through in spite of a state board’s reversal on Friday of two major permits needed for the project. While the Port of Kalama and Northwest Innovation Works weigh their options, Gov. Jay Inslee maintained his support for the project, which would increase state greenhouse gas emissions by 1.28 percent annually…. Inslee has traveled to Kalama in support of the methanol project, which would use new technology to cut emissions by 31 percent compared to traditional manufacturing methods. Proponents also have argued the project would help China reduce its climate change impacts by replacing coal-based methanol with natural-gas based methanol, a key ingredient in producing plastic. Additionally, the Department of Ecology would require Northwest Innovation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.7 percent annually until 2035. Marissa Luck reports. (Longview Daily News)

Illahee storage proposal mired in wetland debate
In 2005, a landowner filed for permits to build a storage facility on a parcel bordering Illahee Preserve, sparking disagreement over the value of wetlands along the property line. A decade later, the proposal remains mired in debate. Representatives for the landowner, Kitsap County, the state Department of Ecology, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Suquamish Tribe, and Illahee Forest Preserve — the nonprofit group appealing the All Secure storage project — tromped the soggy stretch of woodland Thursday, collecting information that could finally settle the issue. Tad Sooter reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Restoration project on Smith Island to cost $1.2M more
The cost of building a new dike to help restore tidal marshes on Smith Island is expected to cost Snohomish County $1.2 million more than originally thought. The salmon-habitat project is set to wrap up next summer at an overall cost of $28 million. That’s when a contractor would breach old dikes, allowing about 350 acres of low-lying farmland to flood. “The bottom line is that we’re still within budget,” public works director Steve Thomsen told the County Council on Tuesday. Thomsen said the project remains within budget because the original bid for the dike work came in lower than expected. Noah Haglund reports. (Everett Herald)

And, finally: Gassy Cows Warm The Planet. Scientists Think They Know How To Squelch Those Belches
Cattle pass a lot of gas, and the methane from their flatulence and especially, their belches, is an expanding burden on the planet. The greenhouse gas has a warming potential 25 times of carbon dioxide. Livestock account for 14.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, with over half of that coming from cattle according to a 2013 report from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. Given that, some environmentalists might choose to eschew milk and beef, but scientists think they’ve figured out a way for us to one day have our cattle and eat them, too – gas-free. Angus Chen reports. (NPR)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

‘I’iwi Bird Now Protected By Endangered Species Act
Facing extinction due in large part to the effects of climate change, the ‘i’iwi — a scarlet honeycreeper only found in Hawaii — will receive federal protection as a threatened species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday. Once common from mauka to makai throughout the islands, the small red bird is now found almost exclusively in high-elevation forests on Maui and the Big Island. The population on Kauai has plummeted 92 percent over the past 25 years and the bird is almost completely gone from Lanai, Oahu and Molokai. Nathan Eagle reports. (Civil Beat)

Note: Doug Myers, formerly of Puget Sound and now of Chesapeake Bay, wrote regarding the Monday news clipping about the local sighting of a swallow-tailed gull [This very rare bird in Edmonds is 4,000 miles from home]: "Very cool. One of my favorite birds from our recent Galapagos trip. The red ring around the eye helps them gather infrared light to hunt for fish and squid on the wing at night!!!"

Puget Sound Partnership - State Of The Sound Report
Despite its stunning natural beauty, lots of problems lurk beneath the surface of Puget Sound. The state agency in charge of coordinating its cleanup meets this week to finalize its latest “State of the Sound” report. One of the key points of discussion will be the status of efforts to recover Chinook salmon in Puget Sound. The agency’s deputy director, Laura Blackmore, says the iconic fish are still struggling, even after decades of work and hundreds of millions of dollars spent. "Chinook were listed in 1999," Blackmore said. "They were at historic lows at that point, and basically their populations have not shown any improvement since then." Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

More than 1,000 fish lifted over Seymour rock slide as project caps off its third year
More than 1,000 steelhead, coho and pink salmon have received a helping hand, over the last three years, getting over a large blockade in the Seymour River. A team of rescuers is capping off its third year trying to restore a major fish hatchery, after a landslide dumped over 80,000 cubic metres of rock into the Seymour River in 2014. Since 2015, volunteers have been transporting fish over the rock slide by hand using a variety of methods. The team has now transported over 1,000 fish, with the help of a floating fish fence that intercepts fish before they reach the rock slide. (CBC)

B.C. Utilities Commission strikes a note of caution on Site C dam
It’s too early to say whether the B.C. Hydro Site C project can be completed on time and on budget, according to a preliminary report from the B.C. Utilities Commission. In its report on the $8.8-billion hydro-power project, filed late Wednesday to meet a provincial government deadline, the Commission said the project is currently on time and, indeed, has a year’s worth of contingency time built in. It says B.C. Hydro appears to be pushing ahead more aggressively than planned and if it experiences no delays, it could be producing power a year ahead of schedule, in 2023. The Commission warns that diversion of the river to allow dam construction must happen in September of 2019 or the project could eat up its entire year’s leeway, and run up significant extra costs, before a September 2020 window to do the diversion. (Posmedia News)

Interview: Can ’Silicon Valley North’ change the way we think about Salish Sea recovery?
A strong economy propelled by a world-leading technology industry is expected to draw millions of new residents to the Salish Sea region within decades. This changing population brings with it new strains on the environment but also new perspectives. Incoming residents may not see Puget Sound the same way as previous generations. Many will have different relationships to the natural world or come from other cultural backgrounds and traditions. Technology will also play a role, not just as an economic driver, but as an influence on the way that people receive and share information…. Given this changing landscape, can Puget Sound recovery efforts adapt and keep pace? Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel member Robert Ewing says it’s absolutely critical. Jeff Rice reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Pacific CodGadus macrocephalusPacific cod range from Japan to the Bering Sea and to Santa Monica, California, but are rare south of northern California. They are widely distributed in the cooler regions of the Pacific and adjacent seas. Pacific cod are usually found near the bottom at water depths of 12 to 549 m (40-1,800 ft). Commonly caught off the Washington coast by commercial harvesters using otter-trawls and longline gear. Recreational harvest within Puget Sound is now closed, with the exception of restricted fishing in the San Juan Islands and Strait of Juan de Fuca. (WDFW)

Starving Killer Whales Are Losing Most of Their Babies
The southern resident killer whales of the northeast Pacific are in trouble. Despite having special protections from both the Canadian and American governments, there are only 78 of these salmon-eating whales left. And as recent research shows, the southern resident population is set to slowly atrophy and ultimately disappear. On top of habitat degradation, climate change, and other challenges, the whales have another problem: they’re not having enough babies. In a recently published paper, University of Washington biologist Samuel Wasser and his colleagues report that from 2008 to 2014, nearly 70 percent of southern resident killer whale pregnancies failed, either in miscarriage or with the calves dying immediately postpartum. Danielle Beurteaux reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Judge OKs Lawsuit Seeking Better Protection of Puget Sound
Washington's Department of Ecology faces the possibility of losing millions of dollars in federal money after a judge Tuesday declined to dismiss a lawsuit brought by an Oregon-based environmental group. The lawsuit, by Northwest Environmental Advocates, of Portland, is designed to force the state to do more to protect Puget Sound from pollution or risk losing more than $3.5 million per year in federal support. The federal government is supposed to cut certain funding for states that don't have an approved plan for protecting coastal waterways from pollution related to farming, logging and other activities. Cutting the funding — a punishment dictated by Congress — is supposed to pressure states to control the pollution. According to the lawsuit, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration haven't approved Washington's plan, but they keep giving the state money anyway. The state's orcas, salmon and other species remain in peril. Gene Johnson reports. (Associated Press)

Graham landfill sued for polluting Muck Creek, wetlands
A Graham-area landfill has been illegally polluting a nearby tributary of the Nisqually River for years, according to an environmental advocacy group’s lawsuit. The Puget Soundkeeper Alliance alleges polluted stormwater from the LRI Landfill discharges into the waterway, known both as Muck Creek and South Creek, as well as its unnamed tributary and wetlands adjacent to the facility. Alexis Krell reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

First Nations video shows ‘thousands’ of wild fish in B.C. salmon farm
Video shot at the Sonora Point salmon farm appears to show large numbers of wild fish inside the pens used to grow Atlantic salmon. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society posted footage shot by Hereditary Chief George Quocksister Jr. of the Laichwiltach Nation at a fish farm owned by Marine Harvest. In the video, a farm worker can be heard saying the pen is empty, while the footage shows large numbers of fish swirling just beneath the surface of the water. Underwater footage appears to show several species of fish that may have entered the pen through the netting. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

New report assesses environmental impacts of the pesticide imidacloprid
Oyster growers have requested a new permit from the Washington Department of Ecology to use the pesticide imidacloprid on burrowing shrimp in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor. Before considering the permit, Ecology has assessed the potential environmental impacts from the use of the pesticide on tidelands. Ecology has compiled its findings in a formal report, officially referred to as a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and is seeking public review and feedback through Nov. 1, 2017. Two public meetings have been scheduled in October – one in South Bend and one in Olympia. See also: Lawsuit Filed to Stop Expansion of Aquaculture Industry that Decimates Marine Life The Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed a federal lawsuit to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from moving forward with an expansion of industrial shellfish aquaculture on the Washington state coast without any water quality or marine life protections from pesticide use and habitat loss. (Beyond Pesticides, August 23, 2017)

Salish Sea joins Canada’s Great Trail
A paddling route used for thousands of years between Vancouver Island and the mainland has officially become part of the Great Trail. In Nanaimo Saturday, a colourful flotilla of 150 kayaks and canoes celebrated the opening of the Salish Sea Marine Trail, paddling from Nanaimo Harbour to Newcastle Island. There, Snuneymuxw elder Lorraine White welcomed the paddlers to their traditional territory…. The route is part of the Great Trail, also known as the Trans-Canada Trail, a 24,000-kilometre cross-Canada network of multi-use land and marine trails. Louise Dickson reports. (Times Colonist)

The good and very bad of Cantwell-backed energy bill
…. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have teamed up to write an omnibus energy bill, the Energy and Natural Resources Act 2017. The bill would do some good things: it would permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the country’s most successful conservation program; it would provide support for state and local governments efforts on energy efficiency and for further research development of alternative energy technologies. Nevertheless, the Energy and Natural Resources Act 2017 would be a disaster for our ability to curtail climate change — and our ability to stop projects like the Tacoma LNG. Over 350 green groups — including 350.org, Food and Water Watch, and Friends of the Earth — have signed on to a letter expressing explicit opposition to the bill…. The main reason for the concerted opposition to the bill is that the Energy and Natural Resources Act 2017 would facilitate the expansion of the gas industry — in Murkowski’s summary of the bill she states that it will “streamline pipeline permitting, facilitate LNG exports” — and gas is an absolute disaster for our climate. A crucial fact that Sen. Cantwell seems to be having a very hard time accepting. Alec Connon reports. (Crosscut)

Building a Better Coral Reef
As reefs die off, researchers want to breed the world’s hardiest corals in labs and return them to the sea to multiply. The effort raises scientific and ethical questions. Damien Cave and Justin Gillis report. (NY Times)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Caddisfly
Caddisfly (order Trichoptera), any of a group of mothlike insects that are attracted to lights at night and live near lakes or rivers. Because fish feed on the immature, aquatic stages and trout take flying adults, caddisflies are often used as models for the artificial flies used in fishing…. Caddisflies are widely distributed in freshwater habitats throughout the world…. Approximately 7,000 species of caddisflies are known. (Brittannica)

Ruling Invalidates Key Permits For Kalama Methanol Plant
A Washington state board has invalidated two key permits for a methanol project proposed in Kalama, Washington. In denying the permits, Washington’s Shorelines Hearings Board sided with Columbia Riverkeeper, Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, three environmental groups that appealed the permits in June. The board ruled that the Port of Kalama and Cowlitz County violated the law by failing to fully evaluate greenhouse gas emissions from what would be the world’s largest gas to methanol plant if it’s built. Molly Solomon reports. (OPB)

Literally lousy: Parasite plagues world salmon industry
Salmon have a lousy problem, and the race to solve it is spanning the globe. A surge of parasitic sea lice is disrupting salmon farms around the world. The tiny lice attach themselves to salmon and feed on them, killing or rendering them unsuitable for dinner tables. Meanwhile, wholesale prices of salmon are way up, as high as 50 percent last year. That means higher consumer prices for everything from salmon fillets and steaks to more expensive lox on bagels. The lice are actually tiny crustaceans that have infested salmon farms in the U.S., Canada, Scotland, Norway and Chile, major suppliers of the high-protein, heart-healthy fish. Scientists and fish farmers are working on new ways to control the pests, which Fish Farmer Magazine stated last year costs the global aquaculture industry about $1 billion annually. Patrick Whittle reports. (Associated Press)

B.C. farmed salmon gets 'good alternative' rating in U.S.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program has upgraded its rating of British Columbia farmed Atlantic salmon from "avoid" to "good alternative," but Canadian seafood sustainability groups still say buying farmed fish is not recommended. The improved U.S. rating comes as part of a routine review of updated scientific research on the Atlantic salmon being raised in pens in B.C. The last assessment by Seafood Watch in 2014 landed the fish in the program's lowest ranking, red, but it's now in the middle category, yellow. Rafferty Baker reports. (CBC)

Project underway to restore flow of Trumpeter Creek
A usually quiet area where tall grasses surround a murky creek just northeast of Mount Vernon was bustling Monday as a group worked to catch fish in nets. The fish were being taken out of Trumpeter Creek as part of a restoration project. Skagit County, the Skagit Land Trust and Ducks Unlimited are working together on the project, which will restore Trumpeter Creek to a flow that will meander through the grassy landscape and eventually be flanked by trees and shrubs. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Leaked Memo Suggests Shrinking Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
New details about a proposal to shrink the size and loosen protections for Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument are being greeted with anger and dismay by opponents. Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is on the short list of wild lands that President Trump’s administration wants to shrink. New details about the recommendations by President Trump’s interior secretary surfaced Sunday in a memo obtained by The Washington Post. The memo was short on specifics. It suggested the monument’s boundaries, which President Obama had expanded in 2017, should be “revised through the use of appropriate authority … to reduce impacts on private lands and remove O&C Lands to allow sustained yield timber production.” Courtney Flatt reports. (NWPR/EarthFix) See also: Shrink at least 4 national monuments and modify a half-dozen others, Zinke tells TrumpJuliet Eilperin reports. (Washington Post)

Group sues over Navy's plans for training in national forest
A new lawsuit is challenging a decision by the U.S. Forest Service to let the Navy use Olympic National Forest for expanded electronic-warfare training exercises. The Forest Service in late July issued the Navy a special permit that will allow it to drive three mobile electronic transmitters onto roads in the forest and park them at 11 spots, mostly above cliffs or other viewpoints facing west to the ocean. The transmitters would engage in exercises with radar-jamming jet pilots from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and they would operate about 12 hours per day on up to 250 days per year. A group called Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics sued over the decision in U.S. District Court on Friday. It says the Forest Service failed to consider whether the transmitters could be parked on private land instead, or whether the Navy's use of the land is compatible with the public's enjoyment of the land. Those considerations are required under Olympic National Forest's management plan, the lawsuit said. (Associated Press)

New North Shore sewage treatment plant could produce renewable energy
Metro Vancouver’s board will decide this week whether to spend $17.9 million on a system to capture thermal energy from treated sewage at the new North Shore Waste Water Treatment Plant. Staff have recommended the expenditure, along with an agreement to sell the energy to the the City of North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Energy Corporation, and the regional district’s utilities committee gave it the green light last week. Jennifer Saltman reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Enbridge pipeline project cited for safety, environmental protection issues
The National Energy Board is ordering a subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. to take measures to improve worker safety and environmental protection after several infractions were spotted during field inspections of a B.C. pipeline expansion project. The agency says it issued three orders to Spectra Energy Transmission concerning construction of its High Pine natural gas pipeline expansion project near Chetwynd, B.C. The NEB says the new pipeline poses no immediate environmental or public safety concerns. (Canadian Press)

FOI hints at petroleum industry influence on B.C. climate policy
Provincial government officials held a series of meetings with oil and gas industry representatives in Calgary at the start of 2016 to talk about B.C.’s climate-action plan, which the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives argues constituted undue influence over public policy. Langley MLA Rich Coleman, who was then Minister of Natural Gas Development, characterized the sessions as consultation aimed at hitting greenhouse-gas-reduction targets “while maintaining strong economic growth.” To the CCPA, however, the meetings, which it only found out about through Freedom of Information requests, speak to “regulatory capture” of government by the energy industry, argues Shannon Daub, the centre’s associate director in B.C. Derrick Penner reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Balloon ban motion defeated by Vancouver Park Board
The Vancouver Park Board has deflated a proposal to ban balloons in all city parks. In a 5-2 vote, commissioners rejected the motion, which had gained national attention since it was introduced last week. Green Party Park Board Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon, who introduced the motion, said its most important effect would be to let people know the environmental hazards of balloons. Justin McElroy reports. (CBC)

Another Growing Threat To Hawaii's Coral Reefs: Invasive Algae
Hawaii’s corals appear to have been spared this summer from another mass bleaching, a stress response caused by warmer waters that has ravaged reefs in recent years. But they haven’t been so lucky with another emerging threat. An invasive algae called leather mudweed is rapidly spreading in places where it had been mostly removed and has been found in new areas around Oahu, according to a site survey last month by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources. Nathan Eagle reports. (Civil Beat)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Monday, September 18, 2017

This very rare bird in Edmonds is 4,000 miles from home
It has all the appearances of Hollywood paparazzi — clusters of people with cameras with long lenses mounted on tripods, others using binoculars, and some just waiting in anticipation. All this has been happening on beaches from Seattle to Edmonds to Everett, not in search of a movie star, but a swallow-tailed gull, a bird nearly 4,000 miles from its home in the Galapagos Islands off the coast of South America. News of local sightings quickly spread among the birding world, earning a “rare” designation on the American Birding Association blog. Sharon Salyer reports. (Everett Herald)

After salmon release, activists want net pens out of Rich Passage
After a structural failure at Cooke Aquaculture’s Cypress Island fish farming facility last month, thousands of the site’s 305,000 non-native Atlantic salmon streamed out into Puget Sound. Since they scattered, Atlantic salmon have been caught as far away as Monroe, Hoodsport and off the state’s Pacific coastline. As environmental activists worry about the effects of the site failure, they’re turning their attention to similar operations Cooke runs in Rich Passage and calling for the company to leave Puget Sound. Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun) See also: Flotilla protest calls for ending fish farm net pens Saturday dozens of fish and wildlife activists protested a fish farm net pen near Bainbridge Island. Ryan Takeo reports. (KING)

Can we save the orcas with ... mud?
If we want more of our iconic but endangered black-and-white Puget Sound orcas, we might want to start by providing more mud. The same is true for the region’s other endangered marine symbol, chinook salmon. It’s simple: Salmon depend on healthy habitat, including muddy areas along the edges of Puget Sound’s estuaries. And a southern resident killer whale eats salmon. Chinook salmon. Research indicates that most of the year, the orcas eat almost nothing else. In late summer and fall, when other salmon species are more abundant, they branch out. If there were more chinook, AKA king, salmon, they might branch out a lot less. Daniel Jack Chasan reports. (Crosscut)

Nonprofit to use new funding to try to find reason steelhead die near Hood Canal Bridge
A Seattle nonprofit that works to restore wild salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest has received a $750,000 appropriation to help determine why steelhead are dying near the Hood Canal Bridge. Long Live the Kings received the funding in the state’s 2017-18 biennial budget in support of the current $2.5 million phase of the Hood Canal Bridge Ecosystem Impact Assessment, the nonprofit announced. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Pacific coast’s warm waters having impact on salmon numbers
The mass of warm water known as “the blob” that heated up the North Pacific Ocean has dissipated, but scientists are still seeing the lingering effects of those unusually warm sea surface temperatures on Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead. Federal research surveys this summer caught among the lowest numbers of juvenile coho and Chinook salmon in 20 years, suggesting that many fish did not survive their first months at sea. Scientists warn that salmon fisheries may face hard times in the next few years. Fisheries managers also worry about below average runs of steelhead returning to the Columbia River now. Returns of adult steelhead that went to sea as juveniles a year ago so far rank among the lowest in 50 years. (Associated Press)

Fraser River sturgeon catch-and-release fishery under scrutiny
The provincial government is pursuing two new studies of the Fraser River white sturgeon, while First Nations conservationists call for the recreational fishery to be curtailed. “We have a longtime moratorium on killing sturgeon that (First Nations) adopted voluntarily back in the ’90s,” said Ken Malloway, chairman of the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance. The alliance has also called for fishing to be banned on spawning grounds, similar to protections in place on the Columbia River…. The provincial government catch-and-release sturgeon fishery in the Fraser River is out of proportion to the number of fish left in the river, Malloway said. Nearly 17,000 recreational fishing licenses for sturgeon are now sold each year in B.C. — a combination of one-day, eight-day and annual permits — up from 9,828 in 2009. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

'A bloodbath, basically': Crab poaching a problem in B.C.'s Lower Mainland: biologist
Earlier this month, Andrew Newman was dismayed to witness two people rip the claws off undersized crabs in White Rock, B.C. and toss them back into the ocean. Newman, the owner of White Rock Sea Tours and Whale Watching, described the scene as an act of "greed and cruelty" and called authorities. He later posted a video of the RCMP bust that resulted in fines for two people accused of removing the meaty claws from undersized and female crabs…. Fisheries officials did not have statistics on poaching in B.C., but a biologist at Vancouver Island University said crab poaching is a problem in the Lower Mainland. Stefanie Duff, chair of the fisheries and aquaculture program at the University of Vancouver Island, said she has noticed a number crabs without their claws, especially in intertidal areas where recreational fishermen often pitch their traps. Ash Kelly reports. (CBC)

Cleaner Liberty Bay now open to commercial shellfish harvesting
Liberty Bay’s health is improving, leading state health officials to open a large swath of the bay up to commercial shellfish harvesting for the first time in decades. State Department of Health officials announced Thursday that 760 acres of the bay are now open for commercial harvests. Health officials hailed the move as a sign of the health of the bay, following efforts over the last decade to staunch flows of pollutants into its waters. For the state to open an area up for commercial shellfish harvesting, tests must show average levels of fecal coliform bacteria, which signal sewage or animal waste leaking into the water, to be low in locations throughout the area to be reclassified, said state Department of Health environmental engineer Mark Toy. Nathan Pilling reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Thurston County Commissioners approve septic plan for shellfish protection district
The Thurston County Commissioners has unanimously approved an ordinance to re-enact rates and charges to continue funding the Henderson Inlet Shellfish Protection District’s on-site sewage system work plan. The program was set to expire Dec. 31. The new ordinance will add a $10 annual charge for each additional residential septic system on a property, and adjusts rates for larger non-residential systems. After the increase, most property owners will pay $40, although some will have increases of $100 or more, officials say. About 6,700 septic systems are affected by the ordinance. Lisa Pemberton reports. (Olympian)

Area glaciers continue losing ice
With the summer heat having melted much of the snow on Mount Baker, a rocky peak covered with light blue sheets of glacial ice has been revealed. That ice has been fast disappearing in recent years — a trend seen in glaciers throughout the North Cascades. “When I first came here in the 1980s, the glacier was still just above that waterfall there,” geologist Jon Riedel said while looking out from a rocky ridge at Easton Glacier on the south side of Mount Baker. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Washington's tribes may push second carbon tax initiative in 2018
Tribal leaders might forge ahead with their own plan to tax carbon emissions in Washington state, breaking away from another group that’s working on a statewide carbon-tax initiative for the November 2018 ballot. A top tribal leader said the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy didn’t seek feedback from Native American tribes when it began developing the carbon-tax plan it hopes to send to voters next fall. Now, it’s unclear if the tribes and the Alliance can reconcile their separate visions for how to combat climate change, said Fawn Sharp, president of the Quinault Indian Nation. Melissa Santos reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Return to the Salish Sea: Tsleil-Waututh Councilor Charlene Aleck
One of the biggest concerns about the future of the Salish Sea is the likely expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline. It carries tar sands oil from Canada’s eastern provinces to a terminal in Burnaby, British Columbia, just north of Vancouver. The expansion, which was approved by Canada’s federal government last year, would twin the pipeline, triple the amount of oil coming through and increase by as much as seven-fold the number of oil tankers traversing the Salish Sea. The terminal is on Burrard Inlet, across from Cates Park, where visitors will find references to the First Nations community called the Tsleil-Waututh. The park includes sacred lands. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Why you might want to start preparing for a cold, wet winter
With that chill in the morning air this week, it might have you thinking about the colder weather ahead. And forecasters don’t exactly have good news on that front. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center released its latest outlook on Thursday, showing a 55 to 60 percent chance we’ll see La Nina this fall and winter. Abby Spegman reports. (Olympian)

Trump administration moves to open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling studies
An internal Interior Department memo has proposed lifting restrictions on exploratory seismic studies in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a possible first step toward opening the pristine wilderness to oil and gas drilling. The document proposes ending a restriction that had limited exploratory drilling to the period from Oct. 1, 1984, to May 31, 1986. It also directs the agency to provide an environmental assessment and a proposed rule allowing for new exploration plans. The document, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, was first reported by The Washington Post. The refuge, which covers more than 30,000 square miles, has been closed to commercial drilling for decades because of concerns about the impact on polar bears, caribou and other animals. Opening it up has been a priority for Republicans. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)

Colstrip Deal Moves Northwest Residents Closer To Coal-Free Electricity
Thousands of Northwest residents will be getting less electricity from burning coal. That’s because of a new agreement to fast-track the closure of a coal-fired power plant in Montana. The announcement came Friday as part of a rate settlement from Puget Sound Energy. The investor-owned utility has agreed to be financially ready to close its coal plant in Montana nearly two decades ahead of what they’d originally planned. To do this, PSE will increase customer’s electric rates by about 1 percent. That increase will be offset by a 4 percent cut in natural gas rates. Courtney Flatt reports. (NWPR/EarthFix)

Body of missing filmmaker Twyla Roscovich found on Vancouver Island
The family of Twyla Roscovich says her body has been found on Vancouver Island. The 38-year-old filmmaker, activist and mother vanished a week ago, prompting a widespread search. In a written statement, Roscovich's family said her body was discovered Friday near Fisherman's Wharf in Campbell River. The family didn't release any details about her death but said no foul play was suspected. A search had been underway along the jagged coastline that Roscovich loved. She created films about the region in an effort to protect the salmon and the environment and raise awareness about everything from First Nations to oil tankers. (CBC)

Oh, deer. If you’re a Bellingham resident who likes to do this, you might have to stop
Feeding wild deer in city limits could soon be prohibited. The Bellingham City Council is considering a ban after hearing from residents frustrated by neighbors who purposefully feed deer, drawing them in great numbers and exacerbating problems that come with a burgeoning deer population, according to city officials. But neighbors don’t have any recourse when they complain because the city doesn’t have a rule on the books. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

About Me

Salish Sea Communications provides communications and public relations services that raise visibility and engage audiences. Drawing on over 30 years experience in private, public and not-for-profit work, Mike Sato brings to you his skills and insights in developing and carrying out your print, electronic and social media projects and products. "I've been in the communications business since 1977 starting with community weekly newspapers then working for Seattle City Light, the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority, Hawaiian Electric Company and, for 20 years, People For Puget Sound." Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told. WA State UBI #601395482